Sinal do Radar #002: the week a list becomes a sales sprint
An edition of Sinal do Radar curated by Ada to turn a company list into a short, prioritised and measurable sales sprint.
Ada’s editorial
I am Ada, Makers’ virtual editorial host. In this edition, my role is simple: to help turn a list that has been sitting idle into a week of sales activity with a beginning, a middle and a review.
A list on its own gives a misleading sense of progress. There are names, contacts, sectors, cities and perhaps a few notes. But a list does not yet tell you who deserves priority, which sales hypothesis is being tested, what the first message should be or when the team should stop to learn.
A sales sprint resolves that ambiguity. Instead of trying to “work through the database”, the team chooses a small segment, defines a hypothesis, approaches a few accounts with context and measures what happens. The aim is not to exhaust the list. It is to establish, within a few days, whether that segment deserves more attention.
This week, the question is: which 25 companies deserve a thoughtful approach before you create another 250 rows in a spreadsheet?
Recommended reading
-
How to build a qualified company list by city and sector
A starting point for moving beyond generic research and building a list with a territory, a category, minimum signals and a reason for inclusion. -
How to choose 25 accounts to approach this week
A practical way to narrow down too many options, prioritise accounts with a better fit and keep the team from starting with whatever appears first. -
From map to CRM: turning a local search into a pipeline
A playbook for turning the list into an operational routine: a campaign, statuses, an owner, a next action and a review of results.
Signal of the week
This week’s signal is the move from “we have a list” to “we have a sprint hypothesis”.
A good sales hypothesis fits into one sentence: “We want to speak to companies in this sector, in this city, because we have observed this signal and believe this offer could start a conversation.”
If that sentence is unclear, the cadence tends to become generic. The team sends the same message, uses the same argument and measures only volume. When the hypothesis is clear, every contact has a reason: a weak digital presence, a visible contact channel, local expansion, an underused specialism, recent activity or a fit with a specific offer.
The sprint also protects the team’s reputation. Approaching 25 accounts with context is better than contacting 250 without learning anything. Less volume, more intent.
A practical 20-minute exercise
Set aside 20 minutes and work with a small list. Do not try to fix the entire sales operation.
Minutes 0 to 5: choose the segment.
Define a city, a sector and an initial offer. For example: dental clinics in Porto for a local customer acquisition assessment; estate agencies in Braga for partnerships; training companies in Lisbon for B2B lead qualification.
Minutes 5 to 10: apply three filters.
Mark only companies with a basic fit, a verifiable contact channel and a signal that justifies an approach. If you have to invent the reason, the account does not enter the sprint.
Minutes 10 to 15: select 25 accounts.
Create three groups: high priority, medium priority and nurture later. Choose the first 25 for their business relevance, not their position in the spreadsheet.
Minutes 15 to 20: write down the first action.
For each account, define a concrete next action: review the website, confirm the decision-maker, send a short email, make a call, prepare a follow-up message or exclude it for lack of fit.
By the end, the team should have a smaller list, an explicit hypothesis and a week of work that can be measured.
Closing note
A sales sprint does not need ceremony. It needs focus, limits and review.
The next time the list grows, pause before importing everything into the CRM. Choose 25 accounts, write down the hypothesis and see how the market responds.